What The Big Game's Big Data Means For Advertising Analytics

A glut of Super Bowl related-advertising analysis and research is available for your perusal. It’s some neuron overload.

The Super Bowl isn’t just for marketers looking to grab more
return on their TV investment. Increasingly, many business-to-business marketing and media agencies looking to make sense of it all are getting involved. They’re looking for publicity in the
eventual hope of gaining partnerships with marketers looking for greater insight.

Some of it can be confusing. Experts are offering research about why the Super Bowl is still a decent buy. They’re looking at traditional media
measures. They’re even touting research showing how the big game is incredibly ineffective for TV marketers.

Some analysis isn’t just about which marketers are in the
Super Bowl, but also about which marketers are not. One study looks at rerun programming on other networks, as well as at those tongue-in-cheek Super Bowl-like shows: The Puppy Bowl, Lingerie
Bowl, Kitten Bowl, and Fighting Betta Fish Bowl. (I’m sure that last one is available somewhere.)

Now, all this isn’t bad. New knowledge in an ever-fractionalized media universe is
always welcomed. Still, one can get swamped by all the new “big data.”

“Big data is exciting, but also daunting,” said Linda Yaccarino, president of advertising sales
for NBCUniversal, during a recent call announcing a product that will feature addressable advertising in national TV inventory across Comcast Corp.’s 20 million-plus subscriber
footprint.

So it’s a super bowl of media/marketing analysis. Trouble is, you have too many players on the field -- which makes it hard to see the performance of the game
and the advertising.